Horvath-Kawazoe pore size

Figure 1. N2 adsorption isotherms and (inset) Horvath-Kawazoe pore size distribution for HMS and its functionalized analogs prepared by grafting and direct incorporation.

The Horvath-Kawazoe pore size model (or one of its modifications) has become recently available as a fully implemented software package. 

Figure 5 presents the N2 adsorption/desorption isotherms for calcined (650 °C) MSU-G silicas assembled from C H2 +,NH(CH2)2NH2 surfactants with n = 10, 12, and 14. The inset to the figure provides the framework pore distributions. The maxima in the Horvath-Kawazoe pore size distributions increase in the order 2.7, 3.2, 4.0 nm as the surfactant chain length increases. The textural porosity evident from the hysteresis loop at P/P0... 

Fig. 6. Powder X-ray diffraction djoo spacing and Horvath-Kawazoe pore size as a function of mesitylene/surfactant molar ratio (from [7])...

Maxima of the Horvath-Kawazoe micropore size distributions. j Cumulative pore volume fiom the BJH method (for pores in the range 17-500 A). s Langmuir C-value, characteristic of the intensity of the adsorbate-adsorbent interactions. 

This equation describes the additional amount of gas adsorbed into the pores due to capillary action. In this case, V is the molar volume of the gas, y its surface tension, R the gas constant, T absolute temperature and r the Kelvin radius. The distribution in the sizes of micropores may be detenninated using the Horvath-Kawazoe method [19]. If the sample has both micropores and mesopores, then the J-plot calculation may be used [20]. The J-plot is obtained by plotting the volume adsorbed against the statistical thickness of adsorbate. This thickness is derived from the surface area of a non-porous sample, and the volume of the liquified gas. 

Horvath G and Kawazoe K 1983 Method for oaloulation of effeotive pore size distribution in moleoular sieve oarbon J. Chem. Eng. Japan 16 470-5... 

Figure 6. Pore size distribution ( ) and cumulative pore volumes ( ) Microporous domain, Horvath-Kawazoe equation.

A number of models have been developed for the analysis of the adsorption data, including the most common Langmuir [49] and BET (Brunauer, Emmet, and Teller) [50] equations, and others such as t-plot [51], H-K (Horvath-Kawazoe) [52], and BJH (Barrett, Joyner, and Halenda) [53] methods. The BET model is often the method of choice, and is usually used for the measurement of total surface areas. In contrast, t-plots and the BJH method are best employed to calculate total micropore and mesopore volume, respectively [46], A combination of isothermal adsorption measurements can provide a fairly complete picture of the pore size distribution in sohd catalysts. Mary surface area analyzers and software based on this methodology are commercially available nowadays. 

Thus, either type I or type IV isotherms are obtained in sorption experiments on microporous or mesoporous materials. Of course, a material may contain both types of pores. In this case, a convolution of a type I and type IV isotherm is observed. From the amount of gas that is adsorbed in the micropores of a material, the micropore volume is directly accessible (e.g., from t plot of as plot [1]). The low-pressure part of the isotherm also contains information on the pore size distribution of a given material. Several methods have been proposed for this purpose (e.g., Horvath-Kawazoe method) but most of them give only rough estimates of the real pore sizes. Recently, nonlocal density functional theory (NLDFT) was employed to calculate model isotherms for specific materials with defined pore geometries. From such model isotherms, the calculation of more realistic pore size distributions seems to be feasible provided that appropriate model isotherms are available. The mesopore volume of a mesoporous material is also rather easy accessible. Barrett, Joyner, and Halenda (BJH) developed a method based on the Kelvin equation which allows the calculation of the mesopore size distribution and respective pore volume. Unfortunately, the BJH algorithm underestimates pore diameters, especially at... 

No current theory is capable of providing a general mathematical description of micropore fiUirig and caution should be exercised in the interpretation of values derived from simple equations. Apart from the empirical methods described above for the assessment of the micropore volume, semi-empirical methods exist for the determination of the pore size distributions for micropores. Common approaches are the Dubinin-Radushkevich method, the Dubinin-Astakhov analysis and the Horvath-Kawazoe equation [79]. 

Specific surface areas and micropore volumes were obtained from nitrogen adsorption - desorption isotherms at -196°C using Micromeritics ASAP 2010. Prior to the measurements all powdered samples were degassed at 175 °C under vacuum 10 6 Torr for 6 hours. The total surface area was calculated using BET equation. The method of Horvath and Kawazoe was used to determine the pore size diameters of the product. 

Pore size obtained by Horvath-Kawazoe analysis of N2 adsorption data. 

The N2 adsorption-desorption isotherm at -196°C and the micro- and mesopore size distributions are presented in figure 2. In the partial pressure range -0.02-0.3 the upward deviation indicates the presence of supermicropores (15-20A) or small mesopores (20-25A). From the De Boer t-plot the presence of an important microporosity can be deduced, so a unique combined micro- and mesoporosity is present for this type of material. Indeed, this combined pore system is confirmed when considering the micropore (Horvath-Kawazoe) and mesopore (Barrett-Joyner-Halenda) size distributions with maxima at respectively 6A and 17.5 A pore diameter (figure 5). An overview of the surface area, micro- and mesoporosity data of the unmodified PCH can be found in table 1. 

Recently, the Horvath-Kawazoe (HK) method for slit-like pores [40] and its later modifications for cylindrical pores, such as the Saito-Foley (SF) method [41] have been applied in calculations of the mesopore size distributions. These methods are based on the condensation approximation (CA), that is on the assumption that as pressure is increased, the pores of a given size are completely empty until the condensation pressure corresponding to their size is reached and they become completely filled with the adsorbate. This is a poor approximation even in the micropore range [42], and is even worse for mesoporous solids, since it attributes adsorption on the pore surface to the presence of non-existent pores smaller than those actually present (see Fig. 2a) [43]. It is easy to verify that the area under the HK PSD peak corresponding to actually existing pores does not provide their correct volume, so the HK-based PSD is not only excessively broad, but also provides underestimated volume of the actual pores. This is a fundamental problem with the HK-based methods. An additional problem is that the HK method for slit-like pores provides better estimates of the pore size of MCM-41 with cylindrical pores than the SF method for cylindrical pores. This shows the lack of consistency [32,43]. Since the HK-based methods use CA, one can replace the HK or SF relations between the pore size and pore filling pressure by the properly calibrated ones, which would lead to dramatic improvement of accuracy of the pore size determination [43] (see Fig. 2a). However, this will not eliminate the problem of artificial tailing of PSDs, since the latter results from the very nature of HK-based methods. 

In order to determine the PSD of the micropores, Horvath-Kawazoe (H-K) method has been generally used. In 1983, Horvath and Kawazoe" developed a model for calculating the effective PSD of slit-shaped pores in molecular-sieve carbon from the adsorption isotherms. It is assumed that the micropores are either full or empty according to whether the adsorption pressure of the gas is greater or less than the characteristic value for particular micropore size. In H-K model, it is also assumed that the adsorbed phase thermodynamically behaves as a two-dimensional ideal gas. 

Everett and Powl51 (1976) have developed a pore size distribution model for the slit shaped pores of ultramicroporous carbons. This model has been further elaborated by Horvath and Kawazoe.52... 

The characterization of porous materials exhibiting a composite pore structure encompassing micro-meso-and perhaps macro-pore sizes, is of particular significance for the development of separation and reaction processes. Among the characterization methods for materials exhibiting ultramicropore structures, DpDubinin-Radushkevich (DR)[2], Dubinin-Astakov (DA) [3], Dubinin-Stoeckli (DS) [4], as well as the Horvath-Kawazoe (HK), [5] methods are routinely used for the evaluation of the micropore capacity and the pore size distriburion (PSD). 

A Two-Stage Horvath-Kawazoe Adsorption Model for Pore Size Distribution Analysis... 

The Horvath-Kawazoe (HK) method is capable of generating model isotherms more efficiently than either molecular simulation (MS) or density functional theory (DFT) to characterize the pore size distribution (PSD) of microporous solids. A two-stage HK method is introduced that accounts for monolayer adsorption in mesopores prior to capillary condensation. PSD analysis results from the original and two-stage HK models are evaluated. 

The methods depend on the theoretical treatment which is used. A majority of them are based on the Generalised Adsorption Isotherm (GAI) also called the Integral Adsorption Equation (LAE). The more recent approaches use the Monte Carlo simulations or the density functional theory to calculate the local adsorption isotherm. The analytical form of the pore size distribution function (PSD) is not a priori assumed. It is determined using the regularization method [1,2,3]. Older methods use the Dubinin-Radushkevich or the Dubinin-Astakhov models as kernel with a gaussian or a gamma-type function for the pore size distribution. In some cases, the generalised adsorption equation can be solved analytically and the parameters of the PSD appear directly in the isotherm equation [4,5,6]. Other methods which do not rely on the GAI concept are sometimes used the MP and the Horvath-Kawazoe (H-K) methods are the most well known [7,8]. 

A two-stage Horvath-Kawazoe adsorption model for pore size distribution analysis... 

Specific surface area was calculated from the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) equation for N2 adsorption at 77 K (Micromeritics, ASAP 2010) [10], The t-method of de Boer was used to determine the micropore volume [11]. The pore size distribution curves of micropores were obtained by the Horvath-Kawazoe (H-K) method [12]. 

G. Horvath and K. Kawazoe, Method for the calculation of effective pore size distribution is molecular sieve carbon, J. Chem. Eng. Jpn. 16 (1983) pp. 470-475. 

Nitrogen isotherms were measured by using an ASAP (Micromeritics) at 77K. Prior to each analysis, the samples were outgassed at S73K for 10 - 12 h to obtain a residual pressure of less than 10 torr. The amount on nitrogen adsorbed was used to calculate specific surface area, and the micro pore volumes determined from the BET equation [14] and t-plot method [15], respectively. Also, the Horvath-Kawazoe model [16] was applied to the experimental nitrogen isotherms for pore size distribution. 

The calculation methods for pore distribution in the microporous domain are still the subject of numerous disputes with various opposing schools of thought , particularly with regard to the nature of the adsorbed phase in micropores. In fact, the adsorbate-adsorbent interactions in these types of solids are such that the adsorbate no longer has the properties of the liquid phase, particularly in terms of density, rendering the capillary condensation theory and Kelvin s equation inadequate. The micropore domain (0.1 to several nm) corresponds to molecular sizes and is thus especially important for current preoccupations (zeolites, new specialised aluminas). Unfortunately, current routine techniques are insufficient to cover this domain both in terms of the accuracy of measurement (very low pressure and temperature gas-solid isotherms) and their geometrical interpretation (insufficiency of semi-empirical models such as BET, BJH, Horvath-Kawazoe, Dubinin Radushkevich. etc.). 

Figure 3. Pore size distribution (Horvath-Kawazoe) plot for MCM-22 and MCM-36.

A series of good quality MCM-41 samples of known pore sizes was used to examine the applicability of the Horvath-Kawazoe (HK) method for the pore size analysis of mesoporous silicas. It is shown that the HK-type equation, which relates the pore width with the condensation pressure for cylindrical oxide-type pores, underestimates their size by about 20-40%. The replacement of this equation by the relation established experimentally for a series of well-defined MCM-41 samples allows for a correct prediction of the pore size of siliceous materials but does not improve the shape of the pore size distribution (PSD). Both these versions of the HK method significantly underestimate the height of PSD. In addition, PSD exhibits an artificial tail in direction of fine pores, ended with a small peak, which may be interpreted as indicator of non-existing microporosity. 

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